Hot Rods Stovebolt Dream Find

An older friend I swap stories & my parts for his aluminum welding skills with brought me a mega find today.......

The genuine article. Aluminum, no casting number as per original 53/54 corvette 235, complete with the exact 3 matching carter YH carbs & linkage. He knows I'd been contemplating the old school Offy intake & linkage I've had stashed back & he kept telling me he had this thing hidden away in one of his old semi trailers. Well he got up early this morning " raining & stormy here" waded out into the woods where his treasures are stashed & dug to the front of one trailer & found it! His trailers are full of the stuff hot rodders dream of real L88's, LS6's piles of Muncies, Super T10's , vintage speed parts, other rare muscle car drivelines, & other mind blowing treasures. Well you get the point. Not one to take dollars he likes to acquire & rarely if never lets anything go but if he does trades. I stepped up to the plate & gave up a set of nos gm 55 sedan front & back glass from our family's old dealership , a couple BBC bare closed chambered "oval" heads, tiny parts washer, engine stand , & a dandy 250sx Honda 3 wheeler project. I wasn't gonna let him leave without sealing this deal. It's rare to to get a chance at this this stuff but it does pay to be pals with those who passed our love for this hobby it down to us. My dad & him have always been friends & I've always been like his son fascinated by it & in awe of his raw 55 Chevy gasser 396 / M22 / 12 bolt w/ 4:88's, now that nos glass We've saved will now have a good home going in his car & I hopefully someday be able to gaze under our hood & focus on real deal "vette" tri power. I'm not sure about 54 production but read 300 units for 53. Either way I'm stoked! Anyone with experience in these , I'm all ears. Flux. From the hottest 53 when new .... To the lowliest our 53 150 sedan! ​

 

Good trade ya made there, he was a nice guy to let ya have that! K6

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

it truly was, he's said he's not gonna do any 235 stuff anymore & I just realized this is one of the items I was gonna go back & get on the "if you had a time machine thread" ! I bet it'd had to be hard to find even in the early 70s when he swapped for it. Thanks!

 

Nice find, that should turn a few heads under the hood of your sedan.
I don`t have production figures but if memory serves, they didn`t make too many more Vettes` in 54`.

 

Always wondered how the ears got broken - because the person putting out the fire used an axe ?
The '54 production was way more than they could sell - 3,460 is listed in 60 Years Of Chevrolet.
Luckily carb kits are available again after being obsolete for 40 years.
I've had 2 setups - first one cost $60, but came with a set of .060 over Jahns pop-ups & a set of hot Fentons ... that was in '68 ... other one came from Lagoon swap meet & had broken ears on all 3 ports, so it was only $30.

 

now you need to find the exhaust.

 

One good turn deserves another. Great story.

 

My Dad acquired for a true factory split exhaust in mid 70s & can't remember what ever happened to it. We have an idea who may have wound up with it & now I'm on the hunt for it. Flux

 

I was instantly drawn to the repair & no big deal to dress it down smooth, after I google'd a few for sale I seen it was better than those having only the one ear, I was surprised at how heavy it was. Thanks for the info ! Flux

 

Bought one for $20 bucks back in 65. Put it on a 54 hardtop. Couldn't clear the second gear shifter arm. Are maybe reverse. Had to pull it off. He gave me my money back. Last time I saw him we talked of we shoulda kept that. Had the vette exhaust on a 54 convert. It was a powerglide. What a a sweet sound. Different from a split manifold.

 

The exhaust manifold is cast 3707904. I was lucky enough to buy a new one in '68 thru one of the best parts men who ever lived - Keith Eaton at Intermountain Chevytown in Pocatello. He might have found the last one in the warehouse system. It cost a whopping $21.90. Ran it on several cars for 5 years, then loaned it to a "buddy" who moved to the Denver area with it on a baby shit orange '54 2 door. It had the rear flange ground down a bit to clear the emergency linkage on '49-'52 cars - if anyone finds it, I'd enjoy hearing from you - it has a few stories.

 

I guess my memory didn`t serve, thanks for the info.

 

I like your Sx in the background Goooood Stufff ! LoL

 

The manifold alignment rings need to be placed in the intake during installation , not in in the cylinder head.... don't ASK how I know....DYNO DAVE

 

I spent a lot of hours fitting my Vette intake & exhaust manifolds into our '54 Bel Air sedan, don't remember any issue with 2nd, but reverse was a no go.... Telling a buddy about it, I was thinking floor shift, he said you need to keep the 3-on-the-tree. Kept looking a the set up, tried reversing those shifter arm "pillow blocks", had to deepen the firewall opening where the transmission shift rods pass thru the wall. Drove it for several days, would lock up in shifting, adjust... lock up, adjust... a couple of days doing this. The net result, it shifts a tighter pattern than factory... Been rowing the tree for 15 years.... DYNO DAVE

 

magnificent

 

Dyno Dave, I sincerely appreciate this important "learning" experience , that's one reason I'm thankful all you guys are posting about it. I've currently got the sleeves sitting in the cylinder head, and I'm taking it I should NOT do this but rather slip them in the intake then into the head, thanks. I'll take calipers & measure the depth of the cut out area for safety sake too so sleeves won't bottom out. This is such a dream for us to find one & I don't want to chance any "flange" trouble, or premature bottoming out. If any body has a suggestion on the webers or insight as to how "temperamental" good or bad they act I'd be glad to hear what experiences you've all had. Far as the car goes my great grand pa bought it when new & i'm named after him, was my dads first car , he's 69 now, currently my son 11 is proud heir & it's been in family 5 generations, lots of memories. I'm the middle aged worker bee . I've plasma'd out all the floor mount items & park brake stuff, so no clearance issues. I built a saginaw 4 speed I've retro fitted with Warner R10 overdrive, 68 nova rear 3.55 gear. Feedback much appreciated. Thanks! Flux.

 

Digging the side drafts...a good tip learned form someone "back in the day": tip your engine up a bit on the intake side with some shims. The carbs are known to leak a bit, and they will just drain into the intake, not puddle up inside the carb, and catch fire if she backfires during start up. I believe this was an actual factory fix back in '54.
Somewhere on the HAMB is a how to that I did, making the air filters from scratch.

 

Fantastic info! Thanks! Keep the good info coming.......& what an awesome engine bay , they really do add to the eye candy factor! Flux

 

A high school friend had a 38 Chevy with a 56 235 and he bought an original six cylinder Corvette exhaust manifold at the local Chevy dealer in the mid sixties, it was in the $20 range then He still has the car, he bought it shortly after high school when his girl friend broke up with him

 

Nice trade. I had half ownership in a set when we raced a '50 Fleetline four door with a 261" in H or J gas back in the early 60's. I remember the deal on the rings going in the intake first. Lots of good memories. That will make a sweet set-up.

 

Thank you , this intake , before me was destined for a 261 stock car, my friend ran in top five cars frequently to the "Mark Martin" nascar driver on both our local little short tracks. I was a little dude then but dad was a "c" class 6 cylinder fan & helped out some local guys on the engine machine work. Got to love the sounds from those Mean "buzzin" 1/2 dozens! Flux

 

Looking very Good, now the Bad news... See the driver's side vertical flange, a portion must Go... I tried keeping a small half circle in the flange, but later found I couldn't access the last exhaust manifold bolt, so had to increase the size of the radius. You will need to use a choke cable set up, the use of the sidedrafts require one. It's 3gang cable, you pull the choke out, when the engine fires, quickly push the choke closed. On Warm engine starts the choke usually isn't needed. At the time of purchase the cable was $160.00, passed on the correct "Corvette" knob @ $40.00more. On tipping the intake with shims, I talked at length with an older gentleman who had restored a '54 Vette, he explained the need for the choke and said to set the float levels higher than what the instructions say. In 13/14 years of driving I've had the '54 flood 2/3 times, Park on Level ground, not steep places... A GM inline 12v electric fuel pump is used, with a low pressure fuel regulator set @ 3.5 pounds... Seem to catch a lot of Flak for keeping the inline and this set up, but last season at a car show with 350/360 entries, blown Chryslers, nailhead Buicks, SBCs every where and flatheads galore, the 235 came home with the "Most Radical Engine" award, these people got IT... the to be different thing. Have parts #'s & vendors phone #'s for needed parts, found a good pricing on carb kits... All the best on your project, let know how I can help... DYNO DAVE

 

Outstanding info Dyno Dave , love the to be different factor myself. We could have swapped the 6 for more powerful combos, but it just wouldn't seem right, after 62 years the 235 has earned the right to stay. Your formula shall be the path I follow & will keep this thread updated on the progress of the manifold & components. I did get time to look over the brace & you are correct it'll definitely have to give up a portion for clearance. But will be easy to get at with front cap off. I'd sure like to have the low down on the supplier of quality kits that you would use. Thanks again for the super info! Its been almost 4 days since the trade & I can't quit being excited about it! My wife just doesn't get it. Flux

 

Keep an eye out for one of these early and rare '54 two pot air cleaners. If I remember right, similar "air cleaner heads" can be had from another car of the same era to make this setup. Rambler maybe?

 

I enjoy seeing the different air breathers that have been used & would like to see any custom one off side draft units, I'd like to have an original set up but after seeing what they bring, for this mild custom I'll probably make some similiar to the ones in chopolds post they look fantastic! Air cleaner suggestions anyone ? Flux

 

Just another little trick on getting the rings correct in the manifold to cylinder head matchup.....yes, put the rings in the intake first. Also, "sharpen" the side of the ring that will go into the cylinder head by dressing it on a bench grinder to give it a little bit of a knife edge which facilitates starting it in the intake ports of the head....... a lesson I learned from my uncle the Chevrolet mechanic in my formative years back in the 1960's.
I also have a Corvette intake like yours on the shelf with the original sidedraft Carter carbs. Mine is not as nice as yours as it had cracked runners and poor weld repairs. It is the second I have had in the last 25 yrs with cracked runners. I think the heavy carbs hanging way out on the manifold and some of the 6cyl. vibration may be to blame.
Also......I learned that if any of your carbs still have the brass tags under the carb screws......Corvette restorers will pay BIG $$$ for them.

 

At first I thought it was cast due to its weight, but magnet proved otherwise thankfully revealing it's originality , unfortunately the tags are not there but he's still got the fuel block "log" to dig out knows it's basic location, if only he had the breathers..... But I'm not complaining! Thanks for yet more great info! Flux.

 

Hey Flux, here's some vendor sites for catalogs or online... W F Grossmueller, gccorvettes.com They have many items, fuel lines, linkage... Decent prices, but they will not teardown carbs for small pieces. Mary Jo Rohner, VetteGal.com She will get the small pieces, but open your wallet really wide...but if you need it!!!!
Mike's Carburetor Parts, Chehalis, WA.
PK101 Carter YH Premium carb kit, rebuild kit plus the exterior fasteners, etc. @ $41.95 ea.
From Summit
Low Pressure fuel regulator HLY-12-804 $29.09
Low Pressure inline Delphi OEM 4.5lb. fuel pump DFP-FD003 $45.97
I measured the firewall radius, it begins 9" down from the top of the flange, the arc looks like sanding disc radius, clear to firewall at the center of the arc, some massaged relief is good here, HIT IT. This is a place to start, you're using a different engine mount set up, so proceed with caution...
And this might be useful, a '57 Chevy car 12v wiper motor bolts in place and uses the linkage that's in place... Hope this helpful, DYNO DAVE